Boots may be constructed for a variety of purposes. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,091, a boot is provided to facilitate delivery of a liquid medication to a foot of a wearer of the boot. The boot includes a sole and an upper that is coupled to the sole. The upper includes a tubular passageway housing a drawstring that is configured to hold a liquid within the boot when the drawstring is drawn taught. The tubular passageway and the drawstring compress the relatively flexible boot against the contained ankle of the wearer to seal liquid within the boot.
However, since the tubular passageway is designed to compress the boot against the ankle of the wearer, the visual appearance of the boot can be degraded when the drawstring is tightened. Further, an upper end of the boot is attached to the boot upper near the drawstring such that the upper end may also distort when the drawstring is tightened. As a result, the top end of the upper end may flex in an outward direction when the drawstring is tightened so that the upper end of the boot tends to capture and hold debris external to the boot. Thus, the drawstring arrangement may tend hold liquid within the boot; however, it may also degrade the capability of the boot to seal out external elements when tightening the boot causes the upper end to distort.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a boot that seals the inside of the boot from external elements without having to distort the appearance of the boot. In particular, the inventors have developed a boot comprising: a sole; an upper coupled to the sole including a top portion having an interior wall, the top portion further having an opening for receiving a leg of a wearer; and a sleeve coupled to the interior wall of the top portion of the upper, the sleeve projecting inwardly into the opening from the interior wall of the top portion of the upper forming a flexible seal against the leg, the sleeve being more flexible than the top portion of the upper.
By constructing a boot with a sleeve coupled to an interior wall of a top portion of a boot upper, it is possible to tighten the sleeve and seal the boot against the wearer's leg without distorting or disturbing the external appearance or styling of the boot. For example, the sleeve can be configured as a flexible portion of the boot while the top portion of the upper is configured as a more rigid portion of the boot. In this way, the sleeve can be used to seal the boot from elements external of the boot while the upper maintains its shape and comfort.
The present description may provide several advantages. For example, the described boot can present a stylish appearance whether or not the boot is sealed against the wearer. Further, the circumference of the sleeve can be varied to conform to different leg sizes without having to distort the outer appearance of the boot. Further still, reinforcing material supporting the top portion of the upper can also provide vertical support to the sleeve so that the sleeve is oriented in a vertical manner to keep external elements from entering the boot.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.